Letter | Washington should not push Beijing into war over Taiwan

Washington has a long history of waging proxy wars against its rivals. In the 1980s, it helped Iraq paralyze Iran. In Afghanistan, it deployed the mujahideen against the Soviet Union, hastening the USSR’s demise.

Even the Chinese Civil War was a proxy war, with the Communists supported by the Soviets and the Nationalists supported by the Americans.

Beijing’s violent attempt to reunify Taiwan would provide the US with a perfect pretext to weaken China and isolate it from the rest of the world, similar to what happened with Russia.

If you look at the gross domestic product per capita, China is still a developing country. The USA is currently absolutely superior to China in economic, military and global terms.

However, many analysts have predicted that China’s economy will surpass that of the United States by mid-century. China is making rapid advances militarily, particularly in the area of ​​cyber warfare. If the United States wants to weaken China through war, the longer Washington waits, the harder it will be.

However, Beijing should never wage war against its own people. While the West advocates protectionism, deglobalization and a Cold War mentality, China should seize the opportunity to secure the moral high ground by promoting shared prosperity, globalization and cooperation. China should continue to think long-term and not allow itself to be forced into military actions that can only benefit others.

Christophe Feuille, Bordeaux, France

Media should not support a failed Biden

The mainstream media’s stubborn allegiance to the Biden administration, and by extension, to the Democratic Party, is as cult-like as the allegiance of Make America Great Again supporters to former U.S. President Donald Trump. The media demonstrates its loyalty to the Democrats by denouncing everything Trump believes, says and does, while covering up President Joe Biden’s weaknesses.

The two presidential candidates are similar in age but not in energy, physical condition and mental acuity, with Mr Biden, as the debate showed, a weak and faltering figure. I guess, as with the Emperor’s absence, we are not supposed to believe our eyes and ears when Mr Biden mumbles, stumbles, grumbles or collapses.

Paul Bloustein, Cincinnati, Ohio

Von der Leyen needs a better economic understanding

Khaw Wei Kang, Macau